


The office party

by damagederudite



Category: Divergent - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Bisexual Female Character, F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Character, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27724208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damagederudite/pseuds/damagederudite
Summary: An AU suggested to me by a friend. Jeanine is a top criminal defence attorney and Evelyn is the new receptionist.
Relationships: Evelyn Johnson-Eaton/Jeanine Matthews
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Jeanine is just about to go to lunch when a woman catches her eye. She hugs the file to her chest as she watches her move from one computer to another, typing away quickly and efficiently. She must be the new receptionist, the other one went on maternity leave after a sixty year old defence attorney got her pregnant. It was all very scandalous but somehow not surprising. She was beautiful, yes, but nowhere near as beautiful as her temporary replacement. 

Jeanine quickly shifts her attention to the file in her hand that she opened at lightning speed when she sees her look towards her. Jeanine looks above the file to see the woman excitedly talking with a man. She sees her stand and wrap her arms around him before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. She pulls back, obviously excited. Jeanine feels her heart sink but reminds herself that she is simply being silly. She has only been aware of this woman’s existence for about two minutes. 

She shuts the file again before opening the glass panelled door. She will have to walk past the two to exit the building. She sighs and adjusts her blazer before walking swiftly past the two. Well, she would have walked swiftly past them if the woman hadn’t spoken up. “Hi!” she says, her voice is sweet and it somehow makes Jeanine angry. 

“Hello?” Jeanine turns around to face them. She looks anything but nice and welcoming and will definitely regret how defensive she is acting in a few minutes. However, right now, all she can think about is the fact that she has had a long day and it’s only 2pm, she’s hungry and the girl she managed to fall for in less than a minute appears to be with someone else. 

“Hi.” she repeats again, this time slightly less enthusiastic. “I am the new receptionist and well I handle a lot of your clients actually so I thought I would say hi.” 

“Okay. Bye.” Jeanine turns to leave.

“My name is Evelyn!” she shouts after her. 

“Wonderful name, clearly you already know mine!” Jeanine shouts back, continuing to walk away. She pushes the door open and walks onto the bustling street. Evelyn remains stood there, barely off put by Jeanine's harsh attitude. She had expected nothing less from her, she does have quite the reputation after all. Perhaps that’s the reason that all the clients seem to want her. 

Evelyn goes back to talking with the man whilst Jeanine continues down the street, almost bumping into a clearly pissed off looking woman.

“Hey! Watch where you are going!” she shouts.

“Go fuck yourself!” Jeanine shouts back, earning many tuts and disapproving looks from people holding small children’s hands. Let’s just say that likeability has never been Jeanine’s number one priority. It is quite possible that it doesn’t even get into the top one hundred category of her priorities. 

She walks through the automatic door of a local coffee shop and approaches the counter, the file still gripped tightly in her hand. She can’t afford to stop working. 

The same woman that is there every weekday smiles at her. She looks at the case file. "Still working today then?” she says. Jeanine nods. “A rough one?” she asks.

“I can’t disclose such information.” 

The woman smiles a little. “One day I will get you to talk to me a little more Jeanine. You are always so closed off.” 

“I’m not closed off.” Jeanine snaps in possibly the most closed off way possible.

“Mhm.” She begins to enter Jeanine’s regular order, a double shot latte. 

“I’m not!” Jeanine all but stamps like a petulant child. 

The woman raises a brow. “Whatever you say Jeanine.” 

Jeanine scans her card on the register and places it back in her pocket, she doesn’t want to talk about this anymore. 

They wait the next two minutes in silence before she hands Jeanine the cup and Jeanine walks off. Jeanine opens the door with her empty hand, the file tucked under her arm. She blinks back tears and keeps walking towards the local park. 

Her therapist said that she needs to spend more time outside so that’s what she does, only to shut her up though. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn’t, or maybe Jeanine will never be able to make any considerable progress in therapy because she is completely unwilling to open up.

She finds a bench with a table and places the recyclable cup and case file down. She sits down and wipes her eyes to check that no tears managed to escape. She doesn’t cry in public. She cries at night, when no one is there to judge her but the voice of her deceased mother. ‘Human nature is the enemy Jeanine.’ Those six weeks seem to never stop repeating in her head. 

Her mother died when she was nine, she couldn’t cry, she couldn’t feel anything. Her father died in the hospital a week later. He was a much kinder man. They were both scientists and they were both in a lab accident. That’s all Jeanine knows. That’s all social services could tell her before ushering her off to her best friend’s parents. Their parents were close so they were close. She doesn’t speak to him anymore either though. Andrew just couldn’t deal with her any longer. That’s what hurt the most, not her parents, Andrew leaving. Even her best friend couldn’t stand her anymore. 

Jeanine flicks through the file to the page she was last reading in an attempt to banish all of her thoughts. This case will be simple, most cases are for her. Jeanine is ridiculously logical and intelligent, she has been told it her whole life. She always comes out on top and she is no different in the courtroom. 

She pulls her phone out and sees that the only notification she has is a reminder she set herself about the meeting in half an hour. She sighs and downs her coffee. She ignores the hungry feeling in her stomach, she hasn’t got time to eat lunch. She never has time for lunch. Or anything else for that matter. Her schedule is always packed full with either work or her own personal studies. 

She stands and grabs the file and the cup. She walks back towards work, chucking the cup in the bin and hugging the file to her chest like a safety blanket. That’s what her work is really, a safety blanket. She can hide behind it and it can’t leave her. It can’t leave her like her boss's ex-wife, Alexandra. They were engaged but Jeanine was too much or too little or a mixture of both, yet again. Everyone leaves but at least work doesn’t, even though she slept with boss’s wife. He was understanding enough. It was probably helped by the fact that he was cheating too. 

Somehow, even work has been disrupted now by a woman she has barely met. Perhaps it was just the final straw for Jeanine. She is tired of being left and tired of having her heart broken. She should just accept it now, she will never find love. And as she pushes open the door and forces herself to smile as the new receptionist, that is exactly what she does. 

She continues through the building and heads up the stairs. The building is often busy and she doesn't want to have to share a lift with someone. 

Five flights of stairs later, her assistant meets her with a pen and notepad. 

“Thanks Erin.” Jeanine murmurs, handing her the file to take back to her office.

Erin smiles, she knows that Jeanine is difficult but she can’t help but be fond of her. She genuinely believes that Jeanine is trying her best but she does wish that she would open herself up just a little more. If not to her, then at least to the therapist that Jeanine constantly has her cancelling appointments with. It’s always the same excuse ‘I’m too busy’ but Erin knows that it really translates to ‘I’m not ready’. All she can do is hope that one day she will be. 

“Have fun.” she says before taking off down the corridors towards Jeanine’s office.

Jeanine takes a deep breath and collects herself before entering. Not everyone is here yet but ten heads do look up at her. She offers them a small smile. 

She takes her seat and places her hands in front of her. She is the only woman there at the current moment and only one more will join. She tries to ignore her partners looking at her. She knows what they are thinking, she knows what they are always thinking. She doesn’t belong. She doesn’t care what they say, it’s what her mind says that bugs her. She knows that she doesn’t belong but it’s not just her job that she doesn’t belong in, it’s humanity. Her mother always made sure that her daughter was different and she still does beyond the grave. She made her hate her human nature. Now she is barely human. She doesn't know what she is anymore. 

The meeting is simple enough and she makes sure to give the other woman a small smile which she reciprocates. She closes the notebook on her two paragraphs of notes and exits the room. The rest of the day goes by quickly and it’s dark when she finally leaves.

She puts her coat on, gets her bag and walks to the foyer. 

“Going home?” Evelyn asks when Jeanine gets closer.

“Yes.” Jeanine nods, her bag held in front of her like some sort of shield. She needs protection from this woman and she barely knows her. 

“Well, have a good evening Ms Matthews.” 

“Thanks…” Jeanine trails off. “You too.” She smiles to herself, proud that she was somehow able to be a decent human being for once in her life.

Evelyn smiles. 

Jeanine walks out to her car, her heels making sound in the peacefulness of the night. She clicks the button on her key twice and the lights light up twice. She opens the door and lets out a sigh of relief when she makes contact with the cool leather of the seats. She puts the key in the ignition and stars the car. 

The drive to Jeanine’s apartment takes no longer than twenty minutes and she is home before she knows it. She gives a brief nod to the doorman before entering her apartment building and calling the lift. It opens and a woman steps out, she lives below her but they have never made an effort to talk. Jeanine has a certain reputation amongst the building much like at work. She is a rude bitch. She presses ten and the doors close.

When she finally makes it into her apartment, she all but falls through the door and slams it behind her with her back. She throws her keys into the bowel on the table by the door and kicks her heels off. She unties the tie on her coat and unzips it before hanging it up on the door. She walks into the open planned living space and chucks her bag down onto the kitchen countertop. 

She pushes all of her built up feelings from the day aside until she has changed into her pyjamas and poured herself a glass of wine. 

She falls onto the sofa and reaches for the anti-depressants on the corner table. She really shouldn’t take them with alcohol but she struggles to care these days. She swallows two and then the rest of the glass of wine. She finally lets her tears fall as she chucks the orange pot back onto the table.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeanine wakes up at the same time as every other day, 6am. She attacks her phone ruthlessly in an effort to get it to stop making the insufferable noise it makes every morning. When she finally gets it to stop, she lets out a small yawn. She stretches her arms out and rubs her eyes before attempting to get out of the incredibly comfortable bed. She sees the stuffed lion on the floor beside the bed and picks it up gently. She feels a twinge of guilt in her stomach, she is always afraid to harm it. Her father gave it to her when she was four and it’s the only thing that has always stood by her. She hugs it to her chest before tucking it under her arm in order to make her bed. When the bed is made, she delicately places it down on the bed. 

She walks into the ensuite bathroom and attempts to avoid the mirror. She doesn’t need to look at herself right now. She can’t take those feelings this early in the morning. She groans when she realises that today, or the rest of the week, is not her day. The only bonus of her period coming today is that she can put her excessive crying last night down to hormones.

She gets into the shower and tries to ignore the thoughts that always seem to fill her mind when she is focussed on nothing but the sound of the water. She makes sure that she is quick in the shower to ensure that she actually has a chance for breakfast today. She is starving. All she had for dinner yesterday was a pot noodle that she just about managed to crawl to the kettle to make. 

She steps out of the shower, wrapping herself in a soft towel. She tries not to slip on the wet tiled floor, she can be pretty clumsy. She walks over to her wardrobe and gets dressed quickly into a black pantsuit.

Once she is dressed, she finally works up the courage to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair is short enough to not require much styling but it is freezing outside so she has to dry her hair. She takes the hairdryer off of the wall and pretends not to notice the huge, purple bags under her eyes as she runs a brush through her blonde hair. 

After drying her hair she acknowledges the fact that she has to attempt to do something about her stress lines and eye bags. She takes out her makeup bag with a sigh. 

When she is confident that she doesn’t look like she hasn’t slept for decades, she packs her makeup bag back up and puts it back in the cabinet. 

She manages to get a bowl of cereal down her before heading out the door.

She calls the lift and unfortunately has to step in with a mother and her small child. Jeanine tries to smile at them but it is really far too early in the morning. The little boy tugs at her coat. Jeanine looks down and he waves. Her heart melts a little; she isn’t completely heartless, quite the opposite really. Her and Alexandra tried to adopt once but they were turned away. It was a religious adoption agency so Alexandra had just put it down to them being a same-sex couple but Jeanine never believed that. She couldn't believe that. The woman that did the assessment told her that she just wasn’t cut out to be a mother. It had broken her at the time and she wasn’t even the one that wanted a baby in the first place. Maybe that’s part of the reason they couldn’t work out. 

She pushes the memories aside when the lift doors open and she walks out to her car. 

Evelyn is on the phone when she walks in but she still mouths a ‘hello’ at her. Jeanine can’t help but feel slightly touched by the woman. Maybe they can be friends.

She is just about to enter her office when Erin hits into her, causing her to drop her bag.

“Jesus Christ!” Jeanine exclaims. 

“Oh my God! I am so sorry!” Erin bends down and picks up her bag. 

Jeanine takes it from her and notices Erin’s tear streaked face. “Erin? What’s wrong?” She has never seen Erin like this. She is usually the disaster and Erin has to deal with her.

“It’s nothing.” She sniffles. “I am really sorry, you have a busy day today.” She goes to leave but Jeanine grabs her arm.

“I don’t have an appointment for another two hours. Talk to me.” 

Erin smiles a little. “Seriously?”

Jeanine nods and returns her smile. “Seriously.” 

Erin wipes her nose on her sleeve. “Okay.” 

Jeanine ushers her to the sofa at the side of her office. She remains her grip on Erin’s shaking hand even once they are seated. She takes in her shakey appearance and feels awful for shouting at her earlier. “Tell me what happened.”

“H-He broke up with me.” she manages between sobs.

Jeanine sighs, that’s what she was expecting her to say. “Dave?” she asks for confirmation Erin nods. “Oh, Erin.” she whispers, pulling her in for a hug. She runs her fingers through her disheveled hair. Erin was there for her when her and Alexandra broke up, now it’s her turn to be there for her.

Erin lets out a sob that shakes her whole body. “I’m s-sorry.” she stutters, still clinging onto Jeanine for dear life. “You don’t need to deal with this.” 

“Shhh.” Jeanine soothes her. “I’m here for you Erin, you should know that by now.” 

“I do.” Erin whispers, digging her fingers into Jeanine’s side.

About ten minutes later, Erin has got it together and they decide to rip him apart over drinks after work. It’s the adult way to handle things. 

They both get through the work day fairly successfully and they are at the bar in no time.

“Okay,” Jeanine walks over with four shots of vodka. “Get this down you.” She hands her one and places the other three on the table. Erin downs it without a second thought. “Aye, there you go.” Jeanine says. “Now, tell me what happened.” She picks up a shot and downs it, her facial expression briefly contorting into one of distaste. It’s the strength of the alcohol that she cares about, not the taste.

Erin sihhs and runs her fingers through her hair. “He was fucking this girl from his work and he fell in love with her.”

“What a bastard!” Jeanine exclaims, taking herself slightly aback. She has a feeling that her strong reaction might be more person than someone messing with her only friend but she doesn’t have the emotional energy to get into that yet. She needs a lot more alcohol first.

Erin nods and does another shot. “I just don’t know what I did wrong. I thought we were doing so well but clearly not.” 

“Erin honey, the only thing you did wrong was fall in love with an arsehole. Don’t blame yourself for that.” 

“Amen to that!” Erin takes the final shot. “I think we need more.” 

“I think we do.” 

Ten vodka shots and four bottles of beer later, Erin is crying. “I just feel like I am going to die alone.” she sobs.

“Me too.” Jeanine takes a long swig out of the bottle of whiskey they are sharing. They moved on from the bar and are now sat on Jeanine’s balcony. The bartender was beginning to give them concerned looks.

“It’s just like, will I ever be happy?!” Erin takes the bottle from Jeanine and takes an equally as long sip.

“Happiness is nothing but an illusion.” Jeanine slurs. “No one is ever truly happy, they are just faking it to make everyone feel bad.” 

“You know what?” Erin moves the bottle far too fast and accidentally spills some of the liquid. They both take no notice. “You might be onto something. Maybe the only way to ever truly be ‘happy’ is to stop trying to be happy!” 

“Yep.” Jeanine takes the bottle back and takes another sip.

“You haven’t gone on a date in years.” Erin points out like she has only just realised the fact. 

Jeanine nods. “I have given up on love. It just isn’t for me.” 

“I refuse to believe that.” 

“Well, believe it.” 

“You deserve love Jeanine. I know you think that you don’t but you do.”

Jeanine eyes water, she tries to stop the tears but her attempts are futile. She doesn’t cry in front of people. That’s why she blames the alcohol as she breaks down in front of her assistant.

Erin pulls her into her side. “You do Jeanine,” she whispers. “You really do.”

Jeanine has never really felt worthy of love. She has never felt safe. Everything gets taken from her. She wraps her arms around Erin and she wants to never let go because, if she does, she might go too. Jeanine clings onto her like if she loosens her grip even slightly Erin will fade away. She will turn to dust in her fingers and Jeanine will be left alone in nothing but darkness. Erin is the small amount of light in her life and sometimes she fears that the light might be too dim. Erin does everything, she is the only reason that Jeanine is still alive. She saves her life everyday. 

“I love you.” Jeanine whispers, her voice slightly muffled by Evelyn’s jacket. She hasn’t told anyone she loves them since Alexandra. She hasn’t told a friend that she loves them since Andrew. Erin knows this and it causes her to melt in every way imaginable.

“I love you too.” She rubs Jeanine’s back in comfort. “We always have each other. We can’t forget that.”

Jeanine nods. “We always have each other.” Jeanine drifts off to sleep shortly after. Shockingly Erin is able to get her into bed without waking the usually light sleeper. 

There is something so precious to Erin about Jeanine asleep. She looks so peaceful. She tucks her into bed carefully and picks up the lion. 

“You are really just one huge softy, aren’t you?” she mutters, looking from the stuffed animal to the woman asleep. She places it down next to her and quietly exits the room. She decides to sleep on the sofa since she can’t drive and it will be almost impossible to get a cab. She also thinks that, although Jeanine would never admit, Jeanine needs the company right now.


	3. Chapter 3

“Did you hear?” Erin asks, following Jeanine out of the court building.

“Hear what?” Jeanine drops her folder. “Shit.” she mutters.

Erin picks it up. “Here. How did it go?”

“Perfectly.”

“Of course.” Jeanine hasn’t lost a single case in the last four years. 

“So, what is it that I haven’t heard?” Jeanine asks, attempting to get the keys out of her bag. When she finally succeeds, she unlocks her car and they both get in.

“There is going to be an office party for everyone to get to know each other since we have had so many new members of staff recently.” Erin puts her seatbelt on.

Jeanine groans. She absolutely despises work events. She simply doesn’t understand why there is any need for her to socialise with her colleagues. She doesn’t kill them and that should be good enough for everyone. It’s times like this that she seriously considers starting her own firm. “Do I have to go to that?” Jeanine asks, praying that Erin will give her an excuse not to go. 

“I mean I don’t think you will be fired if you don’t go but you really should.” 

“What’s even the point!” Jeanine exclaims. She starts the car and pulls out of the car park. 

“You might meet someone.” Erin suggests when they get onto the main road.

Jeanine laughs, keeping her eyes on the road. “I’m the only woman that likes women at work.” The only other lgbt person at Jeanine’s work is a gay man that works in payroll, it isn’t the most diverse place. She gets a few comments about it too. She doesn’t really know about the man, she doesn’t really talk to him, but she has had her fair few of hateful comments directed at her. 

“You don’t know that, there are new people.” 

Jeanine shakes her head and turns onto the road of the firm. “I don’t think so Erin. It’s fine, I will just drink far too much alcohol to get me through.”

Erin rolls her eyes. “You can’t rely on alcohol to get you through every element of your life Jeanine.” Erin has become increasingly worried recently about the amount of alcohol Jeanine drinks. She is beginning to believe that she could have a problem. “What if you become dependent on it?”

“Well, at least alcohol can’t leave me.” Jeanine stops the car. “We’re here.” She unbuckles her seat belt and steps out of the car. 

Erin does the same but is not quite ready to drop the conversation yet. She practically has to run after Jeanine as Jeanine speed walks into the building. “I really think that you should just be careful. Everything is good in moderation.” Erin reminds her.

“Mhm. Will do.” Jeanine opens the door, she is done with this conversation. She holds it open for Erin bedore following her in. 

They begin to walk towards the stairs but they are stopped by Evelyn. “Ms Matthews!” 

“Yes?” Jeanine turns around to face her expectedly. There is a man standing beside her, the same man as the first day she saw her. 

“There is a man here to see you.” 

Erin looks at her watch. “Ms Matthews doesn’t have an appointment for another hour. She has a very busy schedule and has a lot to deal with right now.”

“I know.” Erin rises from her seat and walks towards the too. “I know that this is a lot to ask but please could you fit my friend in?”

“It’s really not a big deal if you can’t. I probably can’t afford you anyway.” the man speaks up. His voice is fairly familiar but Jeanine ignores that for now.

Erin looks at Jeanine in question. Every part of Jeanine wants to say no, but when she looks at Evelyn’s pleading eyes she can’t help but want to help. Besides, she said ‘friend’ so maybe there is a chance there. She rolls her eyes. “Fine. You have ten minutes.”

Evelyn smiles and hugs the man. “Thank you so much!”

“Mhm. No problem. Follow us.” Jeanine pushes away the thoughts of how beautiful Evelyn’s smile is as she gestures for the man to follow them.

He looks at Evelyn briefly before following the attorney and her assistant. 

Jeanine guides him to her office before sitting down at her desk and gesturing from him to take one of the two chairs in front of her. He pauses in thought for a minute before choosing the left one. 

“Okay,” Jeanine straightens herself out and folds her hands on the top of her desk. Erin gets out a piece of paper and a pen to write any key information down on. “Let’s start simple. What’s your name and why are you here?” 

“My name is Andrew Prior.”

Jeanine gasps and Erin’s eyes widen, she has heard a lot about Andrew Prior. How could Jeanine have not recognised him? It’s been almost twenty years but she still should have recognised him. She remembers the feeling of familiarity when he spoke. She should have known. Her life can’t really get any worse. 

“So, you are Andrew Prior, Andrew Prior.” Erin asks, she has to double check but there is no doubt in Jeanine’s mind. 

Andrew nods. He gives Jeanine a small wave. “Hi Jeanine.”

Jeanine all of a sudden feels a feeling of nausea building up in her. “Excuse me a minute.” She practically runs down the corridor towards the toilets. She is thankful when it is empty. Almost immediately after she locks herself in the cubicle, she vomits. 

This is really not what she needed today. Of course the girl she likes is at least friends with Andrew Prior. She blinks her tears back, it’s become quite the daily ritual now, and wipes her mouth with toilet roll. 

She manages to lift herself off of the floor and flush the toilet before wobbling slightly out of the cubicle to wash her hands. She looks at herself in the mirror as she does so, she looks awful. Her already very pale face is ghost-like in shock. 

She forces herself to leave and walk back to her office. One foot in front of the other, she can do this. 

She wipes her hands on her black skirt. “Sorry.” She sits back down. “Where were we?” Jeanine has come to the conclusion that the only way she can survive this is to act like it is just any old client.

“I believe you just ran off to the bathroom. You always have been one for running away from your problems.” Andrew smirks a little.

Jeanine feels anger rise in her. “What do you want?” she spits. 

“I got in a fight in a bar. I don’t need a fancy lawyer like you.” Andrew had got in a fight with someone who kept trying to harass his wife, Natalie.

“You were right, you can’t afford me.” Jeanine’s voice is full of venom and she storms out. 

Erin decides the best thing to do is probably to show Andrew out herself. 

“What’s her problem?” Andrew asks as they walk back down the stairs.

Erin stares at him in bewilderment. “You broke her. How can you not see that?” 

“She was already broken.” 

Erin shakes her head, she refuses to believe that. “She was an orphan Andrew. She wasn’t broken, she was depressed. How can you not tell the difference?” 

Jeanine takes the lift for the first time in a year and thankfully ends up with a woman who doesn’t like to talk. They don’t even bother smiling and Jeanine is on the ground floor in no time. 

She speeds out of the lift, making a beeline for the door. 

She is stopped by Evelyn yet again. “How did it go?” she asks.

“I can’t work with him.”

Andrew and Erin come running down next. “I’m sorry!” Andrew shouts.

Jeanine’s head snaps around in shock. “What?” She must be hearing things.

“I’m sorry.” he repeats again, clearing exhausted from the running.

“You’re sorry?” Jeanine asks in bewilderment. He nods. “For what?” She crosses one arm in front of the other defensively. 

He sighs. He looks at Erin and she gives him a small nod. “I’m sorry for not seeing that you needed help. I’m sorry for giving up on you when you needed me the most.”

Tears begin to well up in Jeanine’s eyes. “You really mean that?” 

He nods. “Truce?” 

Jeanine can’t help herself. She doesn’t show affection. She doesn’t give in this easily. But she can’t help but hug him. She runs up to him and engulfs him in a tight hug. Andrew smiles and hugs back, placing a hand on Jeanine’s back as support. Jeanine lets a tear fall onto Andrew’s shoulder as she hugs tighter.

Erin smiles, she can see how much Jeanine needed this. 

Evelyn stares in confusion. Andrew had never mentioned that he knows Jeanine to her. 

Jeanine pulls away. “I’m sorry too.”

“For what?” Andrew asks.

“I was a pain in the arse.” Jeanine laughs a little.

Andrew laughs. “I’m sure you still are.”

Jeanine nods. “I still am.”


	4. Chapter 4

Jeanine almost falls over as she attempts to run around her apartment and get ready for the stupid office party that she has been forced into. She accidentally stubs her toe on her bedside table and lets out a small sound of pain, jumping up and down. Today is really not her day and she does not want to add attending an office event on her own. It’s all far too embarrassing for her. Luckily, Erin will also be attending alone so they are going together.

She tries to put her earrings in but drops the back. “Shit.” she mutters, bending down to pick them up. She struggles to pick the butterfly up off the floor for far too long to admit and then drops the other earring. “Fuck!” she shouts.

At that, Erin enters the apartment. “Everything going alright in here?” 

“Oh yes, everything is just swell.” Jeanine says sarcastically.

“Good. The door was open so I just let myself in.” Erin shuts the door behind her.

“Yes, that’s fine. Come in here!” Jeanine calls from her bedroom.

Erin enters the room, quickly to see Jeanine attempting to pick up yet another butterfly. “Going well for you there.” Erin laughs a little, a risky game considering just how pissed off Jeanine is right now.

“I swear to God.” Jeanine mutters.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Step away.” she commands. Jeanine is hesitant at first but decides that the way her hands are shaking now will probably permit her from ever managing to pick the small bit of silver back up. Erin makes light work of it and hands her the butterfly in no time.

“Thanks.” Jeanine murmurs.

Erin sighs when she sees Jeanine’s shaking hands. “Give them here.” She takes the earrings from Jeanine and puts them in for her. “There. You look gorgeous Jeanine, stop stressing.” She takes her hands. “I mean it. Stop.” 

Jeanine takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay.” she breathes out.

“Okay.” Erin repeats, smiling. 

“You look beautiful too.” Jeanine says, looking Erin up and down. Erin is dressed in a beautiful peach coloured dress that hugs her in all the right places. She has always been much more confident than Jeanine, who has opted to wear a navy blue aline dress. 

Erin blushes. “Thank you.” She checks her watch and sees that it starts in just over twenty minutes. “We should get going.” 

Jeanine nods and grabs her phone and bag off of her bed before following Erin out, grabbing her keys on the way out. “I got a taxi so that we can get pissed.” 

“Perfect.” Jeanine opens the can door for Erin to get in and then slips in after her.

The journey takes just over twenty minutes and they arrive just in time. They both hate being late. 

“I still can’t believe you talked me into this.” Jeanine mutters, walking through the masses of people. She grabs two glasses of champagne off of the waiter and hands one to Erin.

Erin takes a sip. “It’s for your own good.” 

“What’s for my own good is watching Netflix with two bottles of wine and a blanket.” 

Erin laughs. 

Only two hours in, Erin is being chatted up by a man almost double her age and Jeanine is sat in the corner eating far too much food and drinking far too much alcohol. A fairly normal night out for the two to be fair. Jeanine almost chokes on a sausage roll when she sees the two head off to his office. 

“Careful.” Evelyn chides, smiling. She is on her own and is on her third or fourth glass of champagne so she is pretty talkative now.

Jeanine stops her coughing fit and looks up. She has to take a long sip of champagne to try and override her current feelings. Evelyn looks absolutely stunning. Her hair is tied back in a crown like fashion and she is wearing a sparkly gold dress. Jeanine can honestly say that she feels her brain malfunction for a brief minute. “H-Hello.” she stutters.

Evelyn’s smile only widens at the blonde’s obvious awkwardness and she sits down next to her. “How many of those have you had?” she asks, pointing at the champagne glass in Jeanine’s hand.

“My fair share.” 

“I see.” Evelyn looks towards the dance floor before looking back at Jeanine. “And, is drunk Jeanine more chatty than sober Jeanine?” 

“Jeanine is nearly always drunk.” Jeanine replies, downing the rest of the liquid in her glass. She goes to get another but Evelyn stops her.

“Talk to me.” Evelyn says. “I want to find out more about you.” 

Jeanine’s heart flutters. She wants to find out about her. She decides that the easiest way to find out if she should crush all of her hopes and dreams is just to ask if she is single. “Okay.” She adjusts her position in her seat to face her so it is easier for them to talk. “Andrew Prior, you two are dating?” 

Evelyn shakes her head. “No. No, he is just my friend.” She pauses for a minute, wondering whether to tell Jeanine that Andrew is married. She knows that they had a past. What if that past was romantic? “He is married actually, to a woman named Natalie.” 

“Oh. They got married then.” 

Evelyn nods. “Did you know her?” 

“Yes, they were together when Andrew and I were still friends.” Jeanine has fond memories of Natalie, she was always very kind to her. She is glad that they worked out. 

“You and Andrew were never together then?” Evelyn asks, hope bubbling up inside her.

“Oh God no!” Jeanine exclaims. She shakes her head viciously. “No, no, no. He was like a brother to me. Well I suppose legally he was actually.” Evelyn arches a brow in question and Jeanine realises that she is now going to have to get into the whole dead parents thing. She sighs. “My parents died when I was nine and Andrew’s parents took me in since they were friends.” There it is, Evelyn’s face turns sympathetic.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I never knew.” 

Jeanine shrugs. “Why would you?” 

Evelyn decides to test the waters a little more and hopefully get the conversation off of a subject that Jeanine is obviously uncomfortable talking about. “So, are you here alone?” 

“Well I technically came with Erin but she is off with someone else right now.” Jeanine laughs a little and Evelyn’s eyes widen.

“Oh- Is she?” Jeanine nods. “Well then…” 

Jeanine laughs. “What about you?”

“Alone.” 

Jeanine tries to push down the happy feeling that she gets from that one word. It doesn’t mean that she likes girls, it doesn’t even mean that she is single, and it certainly doesn’t mean that she likes her.

“Oh. Are you single or did they just decide not to come?” Jeanine asks, becoming quite nosey now.

“Single. You? Let me guess, you have a boyfriend but he couldn’t be bothered to come. It sounds like a very manly thing to do. I mean you surely can’t be single.” 

Jeanine shakes her head, smiling a little at Evelyn’s attitude towards men. It’s nice to be around someone that doesn’t romanticise them and ignore all of their obvious flaws for once. Jeanine’s work is so male dominated that sometimes she feels like she is going to suffocate. “No, I am single…” She thinks for a minute. Should she tell her? What harm can it really do? If she reacts badly, then Jeanine doesn't want to be around her anyway. She is also fairly sure that she will find out at some time or another, the whole workplace knows because there is a group of men trying everything to sleep with her. “And gay.” She waits for Evelyn’s reaction with baited breath. This is the moment of truth. 

“Oh.” Evelyn scolds herself. That’s all she can say? That’s what she has been hoping ever since she saw Jeanine and even more since she has actually seen her soften a bit more. 

“Is that going to be a problem for you?” Jeanine asks, not sure what to get from that reaction. 

Evelyn shakes her head and smiles. “Not at all. I’m bi so that’s good to know. I don’t want to be the only gay in the village.” She laughs a little at the end. It is true, she was afraid of being the only lgbt employee.

Jeanine really can’t help but be hopeful now. There is a chance, a small chance, but a chance nonetheless. She hasn’t been the classic lesbian and fallen for another straight girl again. “Well, there is me and one other guy. That’s all I am aware of.” 

“I can’t help but think a lot of the clearly homophobic men here are.” Evelyn whispers causing Jeanine to giggle.

“You are probably right.” she laughs.

“So Jeanine, what’s your type then?” 

You. Jeanine falters for a second. “It depends on the person really. The personality is more important than the looks if you know what I mean.” 

Evelyn nods. “Yes, I agree.” 

Erin stumbles back down half an hour later, slightly dishevelled and far too pleased with herself. She spots Jeanine and Evelyn talking in the corner and comes over to them, limping slightly. “My God.” she whispers. 

“You okay?” Jeanine looks her up and down. Evelyn stops talking when she realises that Erin is back.

“He may be old but he certainly knows his way around that area, if you know what I’m saying.” she winks and her tone is suggestive.

Evelyn turns bright red and Jeanine rolls her eyes. This isn’t a shock to her and she knows that he is nothing but a rebound to help her get over Dave. 

“Good for you Erin.” Jeanine attempts to be supportive but really she kind of just wants her to go away so she can go back to talking with Evelyn alone.

Erin notices the tension and pulls Jeanine closer to her to whisper in her ear. “I’ll leave you two alone.” she whispers. She winks before walking away.

“What was that?” Evelyn asks.

Jeanine is a quick liar. “Details you don’t want to know about.” Evelyn’s face turns disgusted and Jeanine laughs.

An hour later and the two have found their way to Jeanine’s office. They stumble around, extremely drunk. Jeanine is a bad influence on Evelyn when it comes to alcohol. Well, Jeanine is a bad influence on everyone when it comes to alcohol. 

“The view is beautiful.” Evelyn slurs in awe. The light of the city is illuminating her face and she looks almost angelic. 

Jeanine is too drunk and quite frankly too horny to keep hiding her feelings anymore. The whole night has felt like a game of flirting. “Can I kiss you?” she asks.

Evelyn’s heart melts when she looks at Jeanine, she looks so shy. Evelyn nods and pulls her in for a kiss. It doesn’t take them long before the kiss has been deepened and Evelyn is now perched on Jeanine’s desk. Her hands begin to roam around Jeanine’s back until she finds the zip. She unzips it and Jeanine movs her mouth downwards, now kissing her neck.

“Do you want to do this?” Evelyn asks before pulling Jeanine’s dress off.

Jeanine nods, somehow managing to push aside all of her self-conscious thoughts. “Yes. Do you?” 

“More than anything.” Evelyn whispers, her tone sultry.

Jeanine raises her arms to help Evelyn get her dress before unzipping the other woman’s dress and pulling it off with ease. Thankfully, the lights are off so people shouldn’t be able to see through the glass panes, not that that bothers her male coworkers. She once walked in on one of them having a blowjob and he still tried to have a conversation with her. Just one of the many reasons Jeanine hates men. It’s also good that the lights are off since Jeanine has an inability to have sex with them on, she doesn’t want people to be able to see her properly. Evelyn feels the same way. It’s sad because they would both think that the other is simply beautiful.

Let’s just say that the two definitely got what they wanted.


End file.
